Louisville condo shooter had violent past

Jun. 20, 2013
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Gary W. Stewart Jr. had a history of violence against women, including against the mother of his two children, whom he shot June 19 along with one of the children before killing himself. / courtesy photo

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Louisville man who fatally shot his former girlfriend and their 8-year-old daughter before killing himself had a history of violence against women and had been "in and out of mental institutions," according to court documents and the victims' family.

Shortly after noon Wednesday, Gary W. Stewart, 40, showed up with his mother at the home his 36-year-old former girlfriend, Jillian Wood, shared with her twin sister, Jocelyn Wood. He said he wanted to take his daughter and son swimming at his uncle's condominium.

Jocelyn Wood said her sister and Stewart had a turbulent past, including protective orders Jillian Wood had taken out against him, but the two recently tried to work together in parenting their two children -- Shelbi Stewart, 8, and Gary Stewart Jr., 13.

"Jillian went with (them) because she wanted to make sure the kids would be OK," Jocelyn Wood said in an interview Thursday. "She whispered to me on the way out to call her in a few hours because she would likely need a ride back home. I tried calling her several times â?¦ but she never picked up."

While in his uncle's second-floor condominium on Gardiner Lane about 4:22 p.m. Wednesday, Stewart used a gun he brought with him to shoot Jillian Wood and his daughter to death, before shooting his mother when she tried to stop him, Louisville Metro Police Lt. Todd Kessinger said. Stewart then fatally shot himself, Kessinger said.

The coroner said Jillian Wood "didn't have time to fight because he shot her three times in the chest, and then he went to my niece and he shot her in the head," said Elizabeth Wood, a sister of Jillian and Jocelyn Wood. "And then he shot his mom. Little Gary got away, and I thank God that he got away."

Elizabeth Wood said Gary, who escaped with Stewart's uncle, told family members that his father asked the children if they wanted to "die fast or die slow" and the boy said Shelbi said "she wanted to die fast."

Stewart's mother, whose name has not been released, remained in critical condition at University of Louisville Hospital on Thursday evening.

While Kessinger said the shootings appeared to be "premeditated," he added, "We don't know exactly what made the situation erupt."

Elizabeth Wood said Stewart was "very unstable" and had been "in and out of mental institutions."

"I think when he came over yesterday afternoon, he had the intent of killing them all," she said, fighting back tears.

Elizabeth Wood said Gary, who is in the temporary custody of Jocelyn Wood, saw his mother shot before escaping to the pool area, where he frantically asked someone to call police. She said the teen told them that his parents had been arguing about Stewart's visits to his children.

Stewart had a history of violence against women, including Jillian Wood.

"I am terrified he will seriously kill me to get me out of the way," she said in a petition for a protective order in 2010.

In that case, Jillian Wood said in a criminal complaint that Stewart threatened to shoot her, and in a 2011 case, Stewart assaulted another woman -- a stranger -- for no apparent reason in the emergency room waiting area at University of Louisville Hospital.

In the first case, Jillian Wood alleged that, after she refused to tell Stewart where she was living, he threatened to find her and "put a bullet in your head and leave you in a ditch where nobody will find you."

He was charged with terroristic threatening, menacing and stalking, but the charges were dismissed when Jillian Wood failed to appear twice in court.

Stewart's lawyer in the case, Steve Schroering, said his client's conduct in court raised no red flags.

"There was nothing that suggested that anything like this would happen," Schroering said. "He was always pleasant and respectful to me."(AT)

Jillian Wood took out the domestic-violence order against him in February 2010, making the same allegations as in the criminal case. She also charged that he had put a gun to her head and cocked it in 2001.

The order, which expired Feb. 2, 2013, required him to stay away from her and the children, except on scheduled visits at a fast-food restaurant, and to not possess a firearm.

Jillian Wood said in the request for the order that Stewart was angry because he was at risk of going to jail for failing to pay child support, and that two months earlier he had asked a family member to kill her.

She said Stewart treated their daughter "like a princess" and their son "like he is in the Army." She also said he also had killed animals and told the children about it.

Jefferson District Judge Angela Bisig ordered the sheriff's office to store and retain Stewart's firearms while the order was in effect.

In the emergency room case, Stewart was convicted of assaulting a 19-year-old woman, Nikkole L. Morris, in September 2011 in the hospital waiting room.

A warrant said Stewart stood up and started striking Morris in the face, then began fighting with security officers who came to her aid. She was treated for swelling to her face and a black eye, and he was placed in the hospital's psychiatric ward.

He later was evaluated for mental competency at Central State Hospital, but both sides agreed he was competent and he pleaded guilty.

Attorney Stephen Berry, who defended him in that case, said Stewart "went crazy" in the hospital and had no recollection of what he had done. Berry said that Stewart was a nice man "when he was on his meds."

Judge Donald Armstrong sentenced Stewart to 365 days in jail. He was given credit for 33 days he had spent in jail and placed on home incarceration for 60 days.

The balance of the sentence was conditionally discharged for two years.

Stewart had other charges for drunken driving, moving violations and fleeing from police. Most were dismissed.

In a series of Facebook posts in December on a page that a friend confirmed was his, Stewart expressed concerns about children, including his own, and violence.

In one, he wrote, "Enjoy today and hav (sic) love for children they are our future and we let them play killing games and toy guns as adults the whole nations (sic) is retard.

In another he said, "My own daughter was stalked by a known child sex abuser and by a vision from god I was able to stop it and save my child."

Jocelyn Wood said Shelbi had just finished third grade and was looking forward to celebrating her ninth birthday July 18. Both Jocelyn and Elizabeth Wood described Shelbi as a "daddy's girl."

"She was a typical little girl who loved getting her nails done and her hair done -- she couldn't wait to be a teenager," Jocelyn Wood said. "And she always had a smile on her face, every picture you see of her, she's smiling."

And Shelbi loved her big brother.

"They were very, very close," Elizabth Wood said. "Little Gary is really having a terrible time, thinking about what he could have done differently to save his sister. â?¦ We're going to have to get him a lot of counseling. There are a lot of things we're going to have to do now that I never thought we would have to do."